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I loved it.
The 3D could have been the thing that made all the difference. I was enthralled and delighted by it in the beginning. All of the technical achievements were stunning. However, as the film progressed, I found myself just sinking into the story and forgetting that this was a singularly new experience. I usually avoid 3D like the plague. It gives me a massive headache. My eyes have never been able to adjust, but this next gen 3D was so easy. After a very brief period of adjustment (maybe 30 minutes or so), I forgot about it and there was no strain. This was just how the movie worked and it was pretty damn gorgeous.
Beware: Spoilers ahoy!
The story is an old one. There really isn't anything new there. It's Dancing with Wolves in space. It's every movie about imperialism and the rape of the land that we've ever seen. Humanity (explicitly the U.S. represented by the RDA Corporation and the Armed Forces) were the Bad Guys in big bold letters. There was nothing subtle or questionable about that. It was like a sledgehammer. The capitalist dream run amok in pursuit of the ultimate cash cow. The problem, as per usual, manifests as the Na'vi, an apparently peaceful indigenous population intentionally reminiscent of our own Native American population. Unobtainum's importance to the survival of Earth is never explained beyond its staggering market value. So immediately and irrevocably we are presented with the diametric opposition that will structure our understanding of what is about to occur. It's all very expected and all very black and white.
The villains are stock cardboard cut-outs. Colonel Miles Quaritch is the old, war-scarred soldier dismissive of the low-technology natives, complete with trademark speech of Survival and Conquest. In place of a cigar and an elephant gun, Quaritch gets a mug of coffee and upgraded VR-esque mecha. He speaks in cliches and anachronistic jargon. He's both threatened and engaged by the challenge that Pandora represents. His manhood is all tied up in his ability to dominate and destroy. Quaritch just won't stand for some nature-loving, bow and arrow shooting natives getting the best of The United States Armed Forces! Quaritch is a man impatient with the idea of diplomacy just waiting to be unleashed. Of course, as these things go, he always has to go too far and he always has to die.
Then there's the Company Man. Somewhat emasculated, again, dismissive of the native, low-tech natives. Giovanni Ribisi got to expand that stereotype by the tiniest bit in those brief moments right before and immediately after the attack on the Na'vi. I credit Ribisi's significant acting chops for the depth of emotion that flickers across his face and much less on the script which maintains, throughout, his disdain for Pandora as anything more than a cash cow mining operation with a hiccup in the works. It was almost distracting, the level to which he maintained the back-woods, fly bitten, native routine. "We give them medicine and education" and try to make them better by making them like us, and it's not working.
Even Sigourney Weaver suffered from stereotypitis. Her character was just flat, although later in the film, after she's accepted Sam Worthington's Jake Sully as her bridge back to the Na'vi, there is a motherly-ness that develops that attempts to give her character some dimension from the scientist enamored with the wise, agriculturally based and spiritually balanced natives. When we are first introduced to Dr. Grace Augustin, I found myself experiencing a very vague sense of deja-vu. I got flashbacks to Ellen Ripley by way of Dian Fossey, initially. Over the course of the film, I found myself wishing that Weaver didn't ride the line so well. I wish we got MORE Ripley. I think that it would have made the character vastly more interesting.
Where I did find myself engaging was with Sully and Neytiri. I liked that Sully was a paraplegic. It gave the transformations into the Avatar that much more currency. The first time he wakes up in his shiny, new body and walks for the first time in who-knows-how-long I was as anxious and thrilled as he was. He was like a kid in a freaking candy store. I wish that had been played to greater effect. I wish that there had been more obvious tension with the change in his physical state and the way that is tied inextricably to the avatar. Of course Quaritch theoretically defuses that particular storyline by promising to secure the necessary surgery that will repair Sully's spine and give him back his legs, a surgery that's apparently very expensive and inconceivable on vet pay. However, I would have been really interested to see Sully developing an attachment particular and exclusive to the hybrid body. I think it would have played well with his growing attachment to Neytiri and the Na'vi.
Then there was Neytiri. Zoe Saldana was pretty awesome. I will always remember the fist time I saw her, way back in 2000's Center Stage. With each role she gets stronger and stronger. I loved Neytiri's ferocity. I loved the commitment with which Zoe Saldana played her. You could see her through all the CGI, you could *really* see her. I loved the quiet, unassuming way that Sully and Neytiri fell in love. You see it happening in small moments. The love story is never overwhelming to everything else. It evolved as Sully integrated.
I did like that we got to see, at least some, the way that Sully began to lose himself in the Avatar. Losing time, the blur between his body and the Avatar, the Company and the Na'vi. Although, the idea of realities could have been played up more.
Avatar is a movie that was released at just the right time. The technology and advances in motion capture rendered Saldana's performance beautifully. Sigourney Weaver was the other place where I found the expressiveness of face to be breathtaking. Because the Na'vi are humanoid and not human, we manage to avoid the "uncanny valley" (as I've learned it's called) that I found so disturbing in Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within. Similar technology was used in Monster House very effectively, but that was very much a cartoon and didn't suffer from the threat of being too close to realistic in the way that Avatar does.
Although the story is an old one, I really liked the way that the connection between "man" and "earth" (read the Na'vi and Pandora), highlighted in so many similar movies, is made explicit. The idea of biological networking at the center of the story was, I thought, beautifully rendered and elevated the native/earth narrative beyond the worship of "The Tree" or of "Nature" into a measurable representation of the interconnectivity of an ecosystem. Everything from the planet's bioluminescence reflected in some of the Na'vi's spots to the way that system, represented by the sentience of Eywa, defends itself against the Sky People in the end.
It isn't a perfect movie. I'm very challenged to agree that it deserves a best picture nomination, although, I could see the slight to Zoe Saldana's Neytiri. Still, Neytiri, CGI or Live-Action, is not the type of character that the Academy has ever been very fond of. I love that with technological advances such as these, sci-fi fantasy movies will become more and more fantastic.
I enjoyed Avatar immensely. Definitely more than I ever expected. There are obvious commentaries on war, capitalism and, although I can see an anti-technological agenda, I'm not sure that I agree that's the point. The failure of the RDA Corporation, Quaritch and Selfridge is a colonialist/imperialist failure. It's their failure to listen and to respect a different way of doing things. Their inability to see beyond their own agenda and recognize the value in the Na'vi as a culture completely integrated with their ecosystem is the location of the breakdown. The technology, which I suppose could be the physical manifestation of that imperalist trope, exacerbates the problem because they believe that they have the might to force the Na'vi to do what they want. Luckily, that fabulous ecosystem, is able to defend itself.
So, yeah. I am again surprised. Like Star Trek: AOS, I wasn't expecting much, but was insanely surprised. Good on you, James Cameron.
The 3D could have been the thing that made all the difference. I was enthralled and delighted by it in the beginning. All of the technical achievements were stunning. However, as the film progressed, I found myself just sinking into the story and forgetting that this was a singularly new experience. I usually avoid 3D like the plague. It gives me a massive headache. My eyes have never been able to adjust, but this next gen 3D was so easy. After a very brief period of adjustment (maybe 30 minutes or so), I forgot about it and there was no strain. This was just how the movie worked and it was pretty damn gorgeous.
Beware: Spoilers ahoy!
The story is an old one. There really isn't anything new there. It's Dancing with Wolves in space. It's every movie about imperialism and the rape of the land that we've ever seen. Humanity (explicitly the U.S. represented by the RDA Corporation and the Armed Forces) were the Bad Guys in big bold letters. There was nothing subtle or questionable about that. It was like a sledgehammer. The capitalist dream run amok in pursuit of the ultimate cash cow. The problem, as per usual, manifests as the Na'vi, an apparently peaceful indigenous population intentionally reminiscent of our own Native American population. Unobtainum's importance to the survival of Earth is never explained beyond its staggering market value. So immediately and irrevocably we are presented with the diametric opposition that will structure our understanding of what is about to occur. It's all very expected and all very black and white.
The villains are stock cardboard cut-outs. Colonel Miles Quaritch is the old, war-scarred soldier dismissive of the low-technology natives, complete with trademark speech of Survival and Conquest. In place of a cigar and an elephant gun, Quaritch gets a mug of coffee and upgraded VR-esque mecha. He speaks in cliches and anachronistic jargon. He's both threatened and engaged by the challenge that Pandora represents. His manhood is all tied up in his ability to dominate and destroy. Quaritch just won't stand for some nature-loving, bow and arrow shooting natives getting the best of The United States Armed Forces! Quaritch is a man impatient with the idea of diplomacy just waiting to be unleashed. Of course, as these things go, he always has to go too far and he always has to die.
Then there's the Company Man. Somewhat emasculated, again, dismissive of the native, low-tech natives. Giovanni Ribisi got to expand that stereotype by the tiniest bit in those brief moments right before and immediately after the attack on the Na'vi. I credit Ribisi's significant acting chops for the depth of emotion that flickers across his face and much less on the script which maintains, throughout, his disdain for Pandora as anything more than a cash cow mining operation with a hiccup in the works. It was almost distracting, the level to which he maintained the back-woods, fly bitten, native routine. "We give them medicine and education" and try to make them better by making them like us, and it's not working.
Even Sigourney Weaver suffered from stereotypitis. Her character was just flat, although later in the film, after she's accepted Sam Worthington's Jake Sully as her bridge back to the Na'vi, there is a motherly-ness that develops that attempts to give her character some dimension from the scientist enamored with the wise, agriculturally based and spiritually balanced natives. When we are first introduced to Dr. Grace Augustin, I found myself experiencing a very vague sense of deja-vu. I got flashbacks to Ellen Ripley by way of Dian Fossey, initially. Over the course of the film, I found myself wishing that Weaver didn't ride the line so well. I wish we got MORE Ripley. I think that it would have made the character vastly more interesting.
Where I did find myself engaging was with Sully and Neytiri. I liked that Sully was a paraplegic. It gave the transformations into the Avatar that much more currency. The first time he wakes up in his shiny, new body and walks for the first time in who-knows-how-long I was as anxious and thrilled as he was. He was like a kid in a freaking candy store. I wish that had been played to greater effect. I wish that there had been more obvious tension with the change in his physical state and the way that is tied inextricably to the avatar. Of course Quaritch theoretically defuses that particular storyline by promising to secure the necessary surgery that will repair Sully's spine and give him back his legs, a surgery that's apparently very expensive and inconceivable on vet pay. However, I would have been really interested to see Sully developing an attachment particular and exclusive to the hybrid body. I think it would have played well with his growing attachment to Neytiri and the Na'vi.
Then there was Neytiri. Zoe Saldana was pretty awesome. I will always remember the fist time I saw her, way back in 2000's Center Stage. With each role she gets stronger and stronger. I loved Neytiri's ferocity. I loved the commitment with which Zoe Saldana played her. You could see her through all the CGI, you could *really* see her. I loved the quiet, unassuming way that Sully and Neytiri fell in love. You see it happening in small moments. The love story is never overwhelming to everything else. It evolved as Sully integrated.
I did like that we got to see, at least some, the way that Sully began to lose himself in the Avatar. Losing time, the blur between his body and the Avatar, the Company and the Na'vi. Although, the idea of realities could have been played up more.
Avatar is a movie that was released at just the right time. The technology and advances in motion capture rendered Saldana's performance beautifully. Sigourney Weaver was the other place where I found the expressiveness of face to be breathtaking. Because the Na'vi are humanoid and not human, we manage to avoid the "uncanny valley" (as I've learned it's called) that I found so disturbing in Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within. Similar technology was used in Monster House very effectively, but that was very much a cartoon and didn't suffer from the threat of being too close to realistic in the way that Avatar does.
Although the story is an old one, I really liked the way that the connection between "man" and "earth" (read the Na'vi and Pandora), highlighted in so many similar movies, is made explicit. The idea of biological networking at the center of the story was, I thought, beautifully rendered and elevated the native/earth narrative beyond the worship of "The Tree" or of "Nature" into a measurable representation of the interconnectivity of an ecosystem. Everything from the planet's bioluminescence reflected in some of the Na'vi's spots to the way that system, represented by the sentience of Eywa, defends itself against the Sky People in the end.
It isn't a perfect movie. I'm very challenged to agree that it deserves a best picture nomination, although, I could see the slight to Zoe Saldana's Neytiri. Still, Neytiri, CGI or Live-Action, is not the type of character that the Academy has ever been very fond of. I love that with technological advances such as these, sci-fi fantasy movies will become more and more fantastic.
I enjoyed Avatar immensely. Definitely more than I ever expected. There are obvious commentaries on war, capitalism and, although I can see an anti-technological agenda, I'm not sure that I agree that's the point. The failure of the RDA Corporation, Quaritch and Selfridge is a colonialist/imperialist failure. It's their failure to listen and to respect a different way of doing things. Their inability to see beyond their own agenda and recognize the value in the Na'vi as a culture completely integrated with their ecosystem is the location of the breakdown. The technology, which I suppose could be the physical manifestation of that imperalist trope, exacerbates the problem because they believe that they have the might to force the Na'vi to do what they want. Luckily, that fabulous ecosystem, is able to defend itself.
So, yeah. I am again surprised. Like Star Trek: AOS, I wasn't expecting much, but was insanely surprised. Good on you, James Cameron.
